Titans Tower Records
by The Ryuu Victoire Tea Party
Summary: A collection of oneshots on the Teen Titans. [some may be AU, some are canon. Ratings vary for each chapter]
1. An Orange Sunset

Standard Disclaimer on my Author's Profile.

AN: This was my first Teen Titans fic that I dug up. I wrote it a looong time ago. So long ago I can't remember when! XD

**Sunset**

_by Ryuu no Taiyo_

StarFire looked off into the horyzon, sighing as she saw the sun set unto the calm water.

There was nothing else in her view but the ocean, the sun and the sky.

She sighed, hugging her knees.

She felt lonely today. There had been no criminal activity, so the Titans just stayed in the Tower, doing their own thing, being lazy, watching the television, reading...

There was something in the air that day.

BeastBoy had actually managed not to annoy Raven, and they ended up talking about different things, and StarFire and Cyborg had looked at this exchange with disbelief in their eyes.

Cyborg spent the rest of the afternoon working on his 'baby', the T-Car.

Robin was in the gym.

She didn't feel like training today, so she left him be.

She somehow felt alien to all this. (No pun intended.) She felt so distant...

Like that time when she had just arrived on earth, and didn't understand anything about the customs on this planet.

She had tried cooking a couple of earth recipes, but they didn't turn out very well. StarFire wasn't blind, the other's had had rather discouraging looks on their faces. They didn't want to hurt her feelings, she knew that, but she wasn't completely stupid.

She sighed, looking at the sunset.

A voice called her. A voice she recognised, a voice that made her feel better.

"Com'on Star. We're eating dinner. Coming?"

"Yes. I'm coming."

She took one look at the sun, that had almost completely dissapeared in the water, before following the boy wonder downstairs into the Tower.


	2. A Raven's Past

Standard Disclaimer on my Author's Profile.

**Past**

_by Ryuu no Taiyo_

I often saw her in my dreams.

She was dressed in the traditional white gown, symbol of a purity she tried everyday to attain, and to most, had. Her hood covered her hair, but her face shown through. She was beautiful. Her eyes were half-closed, but an uncanny concern and love would be present in them, locked in her dark eyes. She was human. Nothing but. For some reason, this difference made her an object of curiosity of many, as humans hadn't set a foot in Azarath since two centuries ago. The doves that flocked the palace gardens were attracted to her, maybe for that reason. Her aura was different than the Azarathians.

They are a proud people. Arrogant, often blinded by their own wise knowledge of the world, and of other worlds too. They knew so much. Their libraries were huge, filled with every piece of literature that was ever written.

They were an intellectually-oriented people. They had little to do with violence and rejected it. Their laws forbid any violence. They were adept in magic. They were adept in astronomy. They knew every law of science. They knew laws of science that even humans haven't discovered. They knew how to break those laws, too. If they had wanted, the Azarathians could have taken over the world. Easily.

My birth had been predicted more than eight centuries ago, in Azarathian time, and countless more millennia in human time. According to a popular myth, which most seem to believe, the great Mage Kahrar ventured to earth searching for something. He wasn't sure exactly, and those around him hadn't really understood his departure. He found his way to Africa. Humans were so far behind us. Correctly speaking, they weren't even humans yet.

He had fallen asleep, that very first night, in a lion cave, amongst the fierce creatures that he had subdued and trained to keep him safe against the animals of that time.

As he slept, he saw the future in a dream.

He woke up, shaken, and meditated upon the sudden prediction. Writing down the dream, he fell asleep once more, as it was still not yet dawn and the nightmare of a prophecy had tired his mind.

Yet he dreamt the same dream again.

It was so strange, he could not possibly understand how the planet's fate could be so intricately intertwined with the fate of a parallel dimension, Azarath.

The mage came back to Azarath and told his tale.

Since, every king and queen that has ruled Azarath has kept an eye out for my arrival

It was Azar's turn when they felt my sudden appearance on this plane. She quickly ordered her strongest mages to seek out where I was.

They searched every dimension, until they found her.

She was about to commit suicide, they say. She was breaking down, a nervous wreck.

They brought her back to Azarath, and they healed her. But they could not rid her of me. They tried. Finally, Azar decided that she would allow my birth but that Trigon would have no hold over me.

The night before I came into being, Azar had a dream.

And she saw exactly what was going to happen.

I was told on my tenth birthday the real reason concerning my existence.

It was on my tenth birthday that I was finally permitted to meet her.

I had wanted to meet her all my life. And there it was.

Azar had been a mentor to me for all of my early childhood, almost a mother. But she never allowed herself to come too close. At least she tried. We had a bond. But it was not a bond that a mother or daughter would share. It was much too distant.

My mother, Arella, was dressed in her white, hooded gown. A dove has positioned itself on her shoulder, and it made soft noises in the tense silence.

I was forbidden to feel.

I could not feel.

I could sense my mother's stare all too well. I was an empath. That was my Azarathian training. My senses were not heightened to the physical, material world, but they were heightened so I could understand to the language of the heart.

I remember the first words I ever heard her speak.

"_Raven…" _I sensed such sadness that I lifted my head.

She was crying and smiling at the same time.

I opened my mouth to speak, but one of my teachers, afraid that I would lose my delicate control over my own web of emotions, quickly ordered that she be taken away, as she was much too frail to handle this reunion. He had thought it a bad idea from the start. Azar had been planning this reunion for many weeks.

I could not cry, even though I could sense that one of my inner emotions, that I had nicknamed _Timid, _was crying.

The first time I saw Arella, my mother, and I wasn't allowed to speak.

People wonder why I'm so messed up.

I'd never really given her a thought before I actually met her. She was more like a distant relative that you only see once every few years.

Except that every time I'd seen her before that, I was always far, far, far away; so far that I couldn't speak to her. I couldn't go up to her. I couldn't see her eyes.

¤¤¤

"Raven? Raaaeeeeveeeeeennnn?"

The lavender-haired girl snapped out of her daydream. She was sitting in front of the large window, her legs crossed as she sat down, her back straight and a rather thick volume was lying forgotten on her lap. StarFire and BeastBoy were each on her either side, staring at her. They each wore questioning glances.

"Friend, did we perhaps interrupt your precious meditating time?" StarFire asked, suddenly worried.

"No…It's alright." She said, her voice rather tired, "I was just very deep in thought." She looked down to the thick volume. _Secrets Unlocked: A History of Azar…_Raven sighed again. No wonder she had started thinking about her darkened past.

"Pray tell…would you give me your thoughts for a penny?" StarFire asked, curious. BeastBoy snickered slightly at her odd twist of the adage. Raven sighed, a smile tugging her lips albeit the subject that StarFire was inquiring about was rather…intrusive.

"I was thinking…about my mother." She admitted, surprising the three, herself included.

She got up and placed the hood over her head again.

"What did you want to tell me?" she asked, picking up her book.

"We wanted to know if you wanted to come have pizza with us." BeastBoy asked in a soft tone.

Raven turned around and walked away from the window, but the two others did not move as they awaited her answer. Her back was still facing them, but she arched her neck slightly as she looked back at the two.

"I think I'll pass." She said, her tone soft yet tired.

Thinking about her past brought memories that resurrected certain emotions. Strong ones. Love, hope, yearning…Sadness… She needed to meditate.

The past was the past. It was no use dwelling over it. She was over her past, even though it still hurt. Sometimes it was better to forget. Even though to forget meant that you would never evolve or learn from your mistakes, some events were so painful, they were better left untouched.

But it was alright. She wasn't the lost ten year old who had never knew her mother or had never had a friend. She had friends. Robin, StarFire, Cyborg…BeastBoy. Sure, they could be annoying. But they were real friends.

Raven sighed as she walked into her room.

She needed to meditate.


	3. Letters

Okay, so I should be studying for the upcoming exams...

Too bad. The people in my head don't think on the same wavelength that I do.

**I don't care if you don't like it. I don't care if somebody's already used this idea. **I really don't. I just needed to get something out. I've been under a lot of stress lately and I respond badly to stress and aggravation. I respond very badly. I needed to get something out of my system before I imploded, so I wrote this and truned my excess emption into words.

It's probably really bad. I really don't care...

I think I'm PMSing. I'm feeling really bitchy right now.

Standard disclaimer on my bio.

**EDIT : 16 JUNE 2005**: Took this off my profile and added it to this collection.

**Letters **

_Ryuu no Taiyo_

November 13th, 2004

_Deer Titans,_

_I know that you're all going to try to look for me, and I know you probably won't give up no matter what I write in this letter, and in a way that makes me feel better._

_BeastBoy, you were right. Surprisingly, something other than a pointless joke left your mouth, and those words stuck to me. I'm not alone. I have four of the best friends anyone could ever have and wish for. _

_But that doesn't change the fact that I must leave. It is for the good of all of you and also for mine. _

_My powers have been growing rather dangerously as of late and I can't say as much for my control. According to my books from Azarath, this is perfectly normal for someone like me, however this normality is dangerous for those surrounding me. _

_I have to leave. I don't know for how long. Days, months…maybe even years._

_I'm going to miss you all a whole hell of a lot. _

_I don't know where I'm going and I think it would be better for me not to tell you of my current destination. I have my reasons._

_I'll be keeping in touch; of course, I'll be the one sending the letters._

_Before you know it, I'll be back. Don't worry about me._

_I hope things will go well in my absence. I'm not leaving for good, you know, so when I come back, I want things to be alright, and possibly even better. _

_I'm going to miss you guys._

_I'm gonna miss you guys a lot…_

_There we go, another lamp broken. This is why I have to go; this is why I have to leave. I need to be able to go somewhere and regain my control…and maybe find a way to appease my anger…BeastBoy and Cyborg, you know what and who I'm talking about._

_I'm probably going to be gone a while._

_Don't worry about me. I packed my civilian clothes (that I bought with StarFire a few months ago, remember that trip? Hehehe…that was the first time I wore something pink…of course, I wore it completely against my will), my mirror, a few books and my share of the money from the bank. I'll be just fine._

_Well…_

_StarFire, I'm gonna miss our 'girl talks', you dragging me off to go shopping and our amusing meditating sequences. Keep practising your cooking, because practice makes perfect._

_Robin, take care of the team in my absence, and keep BeastBoy out of trouble. _

_Cyborg, don't spazz out too often over your 'baby' and keep beating everyone on the gamestation._

_BeastBoy, keep out of my room and keep trying to beat Cyborg at video games, that way next time you wanna show off something, you'll have something to show off._

_See you soon, _

_Raven._

¤¤¤

December 24th 2005

_Dear Titans,_

_It's been a long year without you guys. A very long year. _

_I managed to get my hands on an American newspaper the other day and I read the interview between you and that journalist you made a few months back._

_I hear that you're worried for me and you're still looking, and inside that makes me extremely happy. It was the best Christmas present anyone could've given me, knowing that my friend's were not going to give up on me._

_I know I should've written to tell you guys I was okay, but I guess it kept on slipping my mind._

_Many things have happened. Many not as great as the others._

_I'm living right now in a small cabin at the bottom of an enormous mountain. It's freezing here, and if it weren't for my powers, the snow would be covering my house. Of course, I'm sure BeastBoy would think that would be a lot of fun…Well…It really isn't._

_I don't know when you are going to get this, but I'm writing this about a week and a half before Christmas. I lose track of time easily in the mountains. It's so peaceful here right now. Just me and the snow and the sky. I haven't seen a human being in days. It's amazing._

_I'm doing fine. Lately, there have been no storms and the cabin has been keeping warm thanks to an ongoing fire. You have no idea how lucky you guys are to have an electric automatic heater. It really is a pain in the morning to wake up freezing because the fire died while you were sleeping…_

_Yes I am glaring at the fireplace right now._

_Being alone for exceedingly long moments at a time does things to you._

_My powers are under complete control right now, thanks to practically non-stop meditation, and sometime next month I'll probably start heading home. _

_I miss you all incredibly._

_BeastBoy, you'd have better been keeping out of my room._

_And Robin, did you kiss Star yet? _

_See you soon, _

_Raven_

_¤¤¤_

** Cookies to all!**

Ryuu no Taiyo_  
_


	4. Of Dreams And Reality

This is probably going to be a short one shot.

Allow me to introduce the evil plot bunnies:

Plot bunny number one: I'm the bunny of love!

Plot bunny number two: I'm the plot bunny of randomness!

Plot bunny number three: And I'm the plot bunny of hyper-ness!

All three: WE'RE THE EVIL PLOT BUNNIES OF DOOOOOM!

Man. I **need** chocolate.

Standard disclaimer on profile.

**EDIT:** Story taken out of my profile (it was a stand alone one-shot) and added to this collection.

**Remember: **

"Talking"

_Thoughts, or as noted, flashbacks._

¤¤¤

**Of Dreams and Reality**

By Ryuu no Taiyo

¤¤¤

Raven stood, her cape lying on the ground beside her, in the darkness; the silent haven that was her room was completely immersed in it. There was light only every few seconds with the passing lightning, and thunder was heard soon after. Her hand was pressed on the cold glass as she stared hypnotically at the raindrops. It had been raining straight for three days, but this was the first thunderstorm.

Raven was in a flight of joy: she adored lightning. The sheer power of it fascinated her, as she had never seen it on Azarath, her home-dimension. Her mind quietly went back towards her childhood in Azararth. Then the first time she saw lightning. She had been fascinated.

Since her stay on earth, she had seen a lot of thunder and lightning, but it never lost the admiration she felt for it.

Sighing, she listened to the quiet air that hung; interrupted only by the sound falling rain has on windows and roofs, and the occasional passing of thunder.

"You know…if you count the seconds between the thunder and the lightning, who can calculate the number of kilometres that tells you how far they are." Said a familiar voice behind her.

Raven turned her head around slightly, and discerned BeastBoy's shape in the shadows.

"Hey." He said, smiling, his voice quiet, "You're door was open so…"

Raven looked at in, her eyes softer than usual.

"It's ok. You'll live." She waited for a few moments, enjoying the rolling sound of thunder as it passed by. "It's late…why are you still up?"

"Keeps waking me up." He motioned the window, where you could see the rain storm rage on.

Raven turned around and looked at the window.

"You really like it, don't you?"

"Huh?" Raven asked, wondering what he was talking about…

"The storm…the night…I mean, no offence, you're pretty dark so it's kind of normal you'd like this better than sunshine…but you like lightning a lot, right?"

Raven frowned pensively, understanding what he meant. She was a Goth empath, so it was more or less normal that she preferred anything dark to anything light. What he was trying to ask is if she really enjoyed the lightning more than usual, or what was expected to come with the stereotype she occasional embodied.

"Yes…I really do like these storms…"

BeastBoy gave a breath of relief. He thought her silence was a silent threat, but now that she had spoken, he could relax a little.

Decided that the silence between them was a bit awkward, he left with a cheery 'goodnight', heading to the main room to get something to drink.

¤¤¤

Later on that night, Raven felt arms creep around her stomach. They were warm…

"Is that you, BeastBoy?" Raven said, and to her own surprise, there was no irritation in her voice. Instead, there was a softness she could not identify ever have feeling or heard in her own voice before.

BeastBoy whose head was on her shoulder, staring sideways at her affectionately, answered a quiet 'yeah'.

Raven, who inwardly was at loss and confused, simply let him hold her from behind as she felt herself relax.

"The rain is so nice…I love the noise it makes…" She felt her arm go to touch the glass once again.

BeastBoy grinned.

"It's beautiful…but not as beautiful as you…" he cracked a corny joke on purpose.

A slightly irritated, slightly amused smile graced her face for a couple of moments.

"You and you're stupid jokes…"

"You like them anyways…" he said cockily.

"Maybe…maybe not…" she said slightly.

_What's going on…Why is BeastBoy hugging me? He's touching me for crying out loud! Nobody should be touching me…Why…can't I…move…away? _

She was confused. Why couldn't she move away? Why wasn't the room exploding?

Where was the presumed apocalypse that would happen if she felt too much emotion?

"Hey…" BeastBoy said, his arms releasing their hold slightly, giving Raven a few moments to adjust standing on her own. He took her hand and turned her around slightly.

_Since when is BeastBoy my height? _She thought vaguely.

She could feel his gaze boring through her eyes.

"What is it?" Raven asked quietly.

_What's he going to say?_

"I…"

¤¤¤

Raven jerked upward, her eyes open in shock.

"Oh my god…" she whispered, "It was just a dream…Just a dream…"

She looked around her, breathing heavily. She was in her room, but not in her bed. Rather, she was lying right next to her window, wrapped in her cloak. How had she gotten there? Outside her window, the sun was rising in its glory, the sky completely devoid of clouds, shining a glorious crystal blue.

She covered her forehead with one arm, trying to recall the last few events…

"BeastBoy came into my room…It's all so blurry…When did the dream start? When did I fall asleep?" she asked aloud.

She could find no answer however.

She decided she needed tea. It would help clear her mind. Then she'd meditate. Then she'd focus sorting out her dreams and reality.

She got up, walked out of her room after tying on her cloak and went through the corridor towards the main room.

¤¤¤

_Of dreams and reality…_

_It makes me so confused…_

_Where's the boundary?_

_Where are the rules?_

¤¤¤

**Cookies if you review!**

And…I might post another chapter, describing BeastBoy's POV of that night…and it might shed some light on you poor, confused children… (grin)

_Ryuu no Taiyo_


	5. The Queen of Cold Stares

A small, 500 or so word-drabble, but I'll count it as a one-shot. They're are no names on purpose. This is my little gift to the fanfiction community for now, as my chances of updating in the next two months are very, very slim. Which is a sad thing. Sigh.

Hope you enjoy this fluff. I actually can't write romance very well, but hey, I try.

**Standard Disclaimer on my Bio.**

**This is an AU.**

**Winning Over the Queen of Cold Stares**

_by Ryuu no Taiyo_

He idolized her.

His friends knew it, and teased him about it. Some of the girls knew it, and it soon became a very popular gossip subject as they all giggled madly at the reproachfully adorable situation. She was the Queen of Cold Stares, as many boys called her behind her back. She was interested in no one and took little interest in those who desperately tried to attract her attention. According to her few close friends; she did this because in her opinion, love was an emotion she didn't want to be bothered with, as it was obviously useless, at least, in her own opinion. But in reality it was the simple truth that she was afraid of the pain that comes almost always hand in hand with the romance so many strive to achieve. She had seen others hurt, and had decided she would learn from other's mistakes by closing her heart and sealing it away.

Regardless, he wanted to prove her wrong.

He knew that she had turned down so many, that even his chances of actually befriending her were slim to nothing. But he was a stubborn one. He always tried.

And almost always failed.

The only smile he had ever gotten out of her was one full of pity and sarcasm as she said: "Nice try," in response to one of his 'sly, charming, you-can't-resist-me' invitations. Then she had walked away without a second glance. But it somehow had the reverse effect on him. Instead of feeling rejected, it made him even more obstinate at winning her heart.

Most of his friends, at this point, considered him even more insane than they had considered him before he ever laid eyes on her.

But he persevered. He plotted mad schemes to swoon her, to the point where she grew simply irritated with him. He wasn't a fly that could be ignored and shooed away. He became a real pest in her eyes. She grew colder and meaner to him, her tongue sharp and cold when speaking to him. He simply tried harder, which annoyed the Queen of Cold Stares to no end.

Then there was that fateful Thursday afternoon where the impossible was proved possible, where hell freezed over and that famous snowball was given a chance, where pigs sprouted wings and chickens could fly.

It had been a year and a half (or was it three quarters?) since he had made a promise to win her over, and she had put up a hell of a fight. But I must imagine that everyone snaps at one point, and even the toughest nuts can crack.

Now, you have to know, the Ice Princess did not in any way develop a fondness to him. She did not, as the books and fairytales describe, grow so accustomed to his annoying behaviour that she actually started to like it and would miss it if it were to stop.

Gods, no! It came to the point where she hated him with all her soul. She had even developed a furious stare that painted across her face every time he entered the room.

How had she given in to his pleading?

She snapped.

"FINE! ALL RIGHT! I GIVE UP! YOU WIN! I'LL GO OUT WITH YOU TOMORROW NIGHT YOU ANNOYING PEST! ARGH! YOU WIN GODDAMNIT! NOW** LEAVE-ME-ALONE**!"

You would not believe the size of that grin after she accepted. He was so ecstatic he was left in a happy euphoria of shock. He stood there, even in the minutes after she left, grinning madly into empty space as the truth sank in and dug a hole in his mind.

He won.

He had actually won. He hadn't won her heart yet, mind you. But…A simple first date on a Friday night…

It was a start.


	6. Letters Continued

**Letters: Unsent, Unheard**

Raven,

_I miss you._

I miss you so much.

I miss the way you never laughed, the way your smiles were like the most elusive of flowers, the way the tea kettle would boil and hiss and I knew you were going to enter the room: it was a matter of seconds.

I miss the way you'd frown, you'd scream, you'd get annoyed. I miss the way you'd always be found with a book. I miss the way you were constantly meditating, and we couldn't touch you, or speak to you…

I miss your warnings, the way you were so elusive, the way you'd hide under your long cloak.

Damn. Rae, I'm really bad at this. I want you to come back. I want you to know how much I miss you. I'm even going through Robin's dictionary to properly write these words, so that you won't get annoyed at my horrible spelling. But you'll never get this and that makes me really sad, Rae.

Did you not trust us?

Did you not care for us? Rae, it's been three months and we still haven't heard _anything. _Damn, Rae, you could give Slade a run for his money. When it comes to the "you can't find me" business, you win, hands down.

We don't even have a glimpse, or a witness, and we've been using the newspapers to try and get some word if you're okay.

I mean, what if one day, someone finds the body of a beautiful purple-haired girl at the bottom of the river in like…India or something? And we couldn't have done anything about it. Not implying that you're weak or anything. But…still…I guess I'm just…we're all just worried about you, Rae. And we miss you. I get the whole thing about finding the control over your crazy powers but don't you trust us? Aren't we friends? Family, even?

I have a stash the size of my videogame collection under my bed that's full of letters for you. And you'll never read them.

And…I miss you.

I want to see you again very soon.

-Garfield


End file.
